ScienceAges 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Explore how light travels in straight lines, reflects from mirrors and forms shadows behind opaque objects. Review suitability for your learners before teaching.

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Age band:Ages 7-9 Ages 10-12

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Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
2. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
3. What do we call the bending of a light ray when it passes at an angle from air into water or glass (due to a change in speed): refraction or absorption?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
4. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
5. How do we see a non-luminous object such as a printed book page: light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes, or our eyes send out beams?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
6. What astronomical event occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting Earth’s shadow onto the Moon: a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
7. At what time of day are outdoor shadows cast by the Sun shortest: around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky, or at sunrise?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
10. Which of these is a luminous object (emits its own light): the Sun or the Moon?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
11. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
12. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r

12 questions · Seed 60 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

View the answer key

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Refraction of light rays leaving the water
Light rays from the submerged part bend away from the normal as they exit water into air.
2. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Specular reflection vs diffuse scattering
A smooth mirror reflects parallel rays in one direction (specular), whereas rough paper scatters rays in all directions (diffuse).
3. What do we call the bending of a light ray when it passes at an angle from air into water or glass (due to a change in speed): refraction or absorption?
Refraction
Light slows down in denser media like water or glass, causing the ray to bend (refract).
4. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Pupil
The pupil is the aperture whose size is adjusted by the iris to control how much light enters the eye.
5. How do we see a non-luminous object such as a printed book page: light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes, or our eyes send out beams?
Light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes
Vision occurs when light reflected from an object enters the eye and focuses on the retina.
6. What astronomical event occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting Earth’s shadow onto the Moon: a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse?
Lunar eclipse
During a lunar eclipse, the Full Moon moves through Earth’s shadow.
7. At what time of day are outdoor shadows cast by the Sun shortest: around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky, or at sunrise?
Around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky
When the Sun is high overhead, rays strike steeply and cast short shadows.
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
In a vacuum (space)
Light reaches its maximum speed c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum and slows down in optically denser materials.
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
It reflects red light and absorbs other colours
Pigments in the apple skin reflect red wavelengths to our eyes and absorb the rest of the spectrum.
10. Which of these is a luminous object (emits its own light): the Sun or the Moon?
The Sun
The Sun generates and emits light; the Moon is non-luminous and only reflects sunlight.
11. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
White surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler
White and shiny surfaces reflect most incident radiation, whereas matt black surfaces absorb it.
12. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
In straight lines
Light rays travel in straight lines in a uniform medium.

12 questions · Seed 60 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioPractice pack · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Take your time. Show your thinking.

1. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
2. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
3. What do we call the bending of a light ray when it passes at an angle from air into water or glass (due to a change in speed): refraction or absorption?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
4. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
5. How do we see a non-luminous object such as a printed book page: light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes, or our eyes send out beams?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
6. What astronomical event occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting Earth’s shadow onto the Moon: a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
7. At what time of day are outdoor shadows cast by the Sun shortest: around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky, or at sunrise?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
10. Which of these is a luminous object (emits its own light): the Sun or the Moon?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
11. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r
12. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
Light Ray (Straight Line) · Angle i = Angle r

12 questions · Seed 60 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification

Worksheet StudioAnswer key · Ages 10-12

Light, reflection & shadows

Answers and reasoning. Review before teaching.

1. Why does a straight pencil standing partly in a glass of water look bent at the water surface: refraction of light rays leaving the water, or the water bends the wood?
Refraction of light rays leaving the water
Light rays from the submerged part bend away from the normal as they exit water into air.
2. Why does a smooth mirror form a clear image while white paper does not: specular reflection vs diffuse scattering, or paper absorbs all light?
Specular reflection vs diffuse scattering
A smooth mirror reflects parallel rays in one direction (specular), whereas rough paper scatters rays in all directions (diffuse).
3. What do we call the bending of a light ray when it passes at an angle from air into water or glass (due to a change in speed): refraction or absorption?
Refraction
Light slows down in denser media like water or glass, causing the ray to bend (refract).
4. Which part of the human eye is the dark circular opening at the centre of the iris that lets light enter: the pupil or the eyebrow?
Pupil
The pupil is the aperture whose size is adjusted by the iris to control how much light enters the eye.
5. How do we see a non-luminous object such as a printed book page: light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes, or our eyes send out beams?
Light from a source reflects off the page into our eyes
Vision occurs when light reflected from an object enters the eye and focuses on the retina.
6. What astronomical event occurs when Earth passes directly between the Sun and the Moon, casting Earth’s shadow onto the Moon: a lunar eclipse or a solar eclipse?
Lunar eclipse
During a lunar eclipse, the Full Moon moves through Earth’s shadow.
7. At what time of day are outdoor shadows cast by the Sun shortest: around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky, or at sunrise?
Around midday (noon) when the Sun is highest in the sky
When the Sun is high overhead, rays strike steeply and cast short shadows.
8. In which medium does light travel fastest: in a vacuum (space) or in diamond?
In a vacuum (space)
Light reaches its maximum speed c ≈ 3 × 10⁸ m/s in a vacuum and slows down in optically denser materials.
9. Why does a red apple appear red in white daylight: it reflects red light and absorbs other colours, or it absorbs only red light?
It reflects red light and absorbs other colours
Pigments in the apple skin reflect red wavelengths to our eyes and absorb the rest of the spectrum.
10. Which of these is a luminous object (emits its own light): the Sun or the Moon?
The Sun
The Sun generates and emits light; the Moon is non-luminous and only reflects sunlight.
11. Why do people often wear light-coloured or white clothing in hot sunny weather: white surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler, or white absorbs all heat?
White surfaces reflect most sunlight and stay cooler
White and shiny surfaces reflect most incident radiation, whereas matt black surfaces absorb it.
12. How does light travel through a uniform medium such as air or vacuum: in straight lines, or in curved loops?
In straight lines
Light rays travel in straight lines in a uniform medium.

12 questions · Seed 60 · Age guidance, not curriculum certification